DxD: A Bond Of Sorrow
by Staid786
Summary: The Red Dragon Emperor and Dracula Incarnate. A bond reinforced through the hardships the two faced together in a Demonic Eclipse. Will this bond remain the same even after they leave it all behind, and get dragged back into the supernatural a second time? Rated M just to be safe. Irregular Fortnightly/Monthly updates.


DxD: A Bond of Sorrow #1

* * *

_A long, long time ago, the Angels, the Fallen Angels, and the Devils went on an all out war against one another. Each side suffered heavy casualities. Each side lost many of its best resources. Each side was sent a step back with every skirmish that took place. And yet, they kept on going._

_They would be wiped out if they didn't. It was a game nobody involved wanted to play, and yet they didn't have a choice. The moment one side would claim victory over another, the third one would come to wipe them out at their weakest. All the leaders of the three factions knew this, and had been forced to the ultimate test of endurance in this three-way war_.

_It was only after the arrival of two certain heavenly dragons that unified the three factions into stopping their rampage, that led to an eventual standstill among the three factions, greatly exhausted and unable to deal the decisive blow. As a result neither of the sides wanted to continue the war._

_There was no outright peace among the three, but no outright battles either. The existence of each of the three factions dangled on a thin rope, ready to snap at any moment._

_As a result, when Count Dracula suddenly rose to power, humanity had to fend for itself, with little to no help from the Angels; they were caught up with the losses from the great war, and couldn't risk spreading thinner than they already had. It was then that the legendary Belmont family arose from within, combatting Dracula and his legion for centuries to come._

_It wasn't until the year 1999 that Dracula would be finally vanquished and sealed alongside his demonic castle by the current descendant of the Belmonts, ridding humanity of its blight once and for all._

_Dark times eventually come to an end. Sadly, so do the good times-_

* * *

**"ACHOOO!!!" **Issei Hyoudou. A brown haired teen appropriately nicknamed "Oppai Baka" shot up from bed, groggily gazing at the clock.

4 in the morning. He figured he'd just go back to the bed.

"Damn these sneezes. Can't even sleep in peace. Oh, where did I put my hankie, again...?" The teen blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes as they scoured the room for a handkerchief. It sat at the study table, adorned with a lamp and the books he'd taken out to read yesterday. Issei was by no means a genius, but he knew better than to let his grades drop below average.

He'd worry about his future later. Right now, he just wanted to drop back down on the bed like a log. And so he did, snoring off to a fantasy free of the troubles of this world.

* * *

Issei Hyoudou. Age 17. 5'7". An average highschooler with an average face and average grades. There was nothing spectacular about him. He was average in everything... Or was supposed to be.

Except he was a big pervert. There were no ifs and or buts about it. He was a part of the infamous pervert trio of Kuoh Academy. He dreamed of oppai, he thought of oppai, and he (wanted to) breathe in Oppai.

Oppai was life for him.

_"Oppai are not simple mounds of flesh! They are filled with men's hopes and dreams__!__"_

\- Oppai Baka, trying to sound inspirational.

And yet, with a personality that grossed out almost all of the girls at his school, he had a friend who was not in the least like him. In fact, they were polar opposites to each other... When it came to women in general, anyway.

Said friend now stood before the sleeping pervert, sporting mid-length silver hair, pitch black eyes, and a uniform that Issei was supposed to be wearing.

The Kuoh academy uniform.

"Issei, dude. Wake up. You're gonna be late for sch-"

"Dragon dragon oppai-dragon! Bounce, jiggle, boing-boing! Boobs swathing in swimsuits are wondrous to behold..."

_'That dream, again?'_

The silver haired teen raised an eyebrow before sighing. He figured there was no other way to wake him up. With a barely suppressed grin, he scooted closer to the asleep Issei's face, and...

"EARTH TO ISSEI! EARTH TO ISSEI!"

The response was instant.

"GAH!!!"

Issei bolted out of the sheets so fast, that the boy was almost sure he'd fly right into the ceiling.

"SCHOOL COMMENCES IN T-MINUS 45 MINUTES! DO YOU COPY!?!" The boy followed up, maintaining the serious expression one would think a military sergeant would have.

"ROGER THAT!!!" Issei, being given no time to calm down and think, went along with the flow. It wasn't until a few seconds later that he realised what just happened.

Issei blinked.

"Oh goddammit, Soma! Couldn't you just wake me up normally?" Issei complained, annoyed at how he was abruptly yanked out of his dream world.

Soma Cruz. Age 18. 5'9". Lean but toned figure. Above average grades. Pretty face.

He was everything that Issei wasn't. It was a wonder how the two had even met, much less become close friends.

"I tried. And you didn't wake up, so I had no other choice. Come on, I'd rather not get late." And just like that, the silver haired teen waved him off, throwing Issei's uniform right at his face before leaving the room.

The pervert in question simply blinked at the door.

"Soma..." Issei's nominal annoyance disappeared the moment his eyes wandered off towards the calendar.

He sighed as he brought up his left hand covered in bandages, gazing at it for a good few seconds.

"A lot changed in the last month... That's for sure..."

* * *

"You were muttering that song again."

Soma gazed towards Issei as they made their daily commute, now properly dressed and ready for school.

"Huh?" Issei frowned at his statement before grinning.

"Well, what do you know? It might become an actual thing one day. You just gotta believe in oppai and their magnificence!" The pervert dramatically tightened his fist for emphasis.

"People are watching, Issei. This is embarrassing..." Soma face palmed as he dragged Issei away from prying eyes on the street.

Once the two thought they were far enough, Soma faced Issei and spoke again, his voice missing the casual tone he'd used earlier.

"This is so surreal. Here we are, going to school like a pair of normal high schoolers, and yet, a month ago we were fighting for our lives..."

Issei grimly gripped his bandaged left arm, realising where the conversation was going.

"Yeah... **Ddraig** still hasn't contacted me since... You know." Issei took a deep sigh as he returned Soma's glance.

Much to his surprise, Soma looked like he'd just remembered something important.

"Oh, that reminds me. Arikado-san said he wanted to meet us at evening. I think he may have finally found someone to give your arm a check-up." Soma elaborated, returning to the casual tone he'd used earlier. There was no use being gloomy.

And Issei knew it too.

"Arikado-san did? That's great! Hopefully It'll get better." Issei sighed in relief, not noticing the surprised glare that Soma shot at him.

"What do you mean, 'hopefully'? You'll definitely get better. I refuse to let you die from something as uncool as this." The silver haired boy crossed his arms, huffing.

"Oh, believe me I'd rather die with my face buried in a nice pair of oppai!" Issei declared, earning a chuckle from Soma to his surprise.

"I know it's not supposed to be funny, but you kinda almost did die like that back then."

Issei immediately went red.

"Oh, come on! How else would you expect a healthy teenager like me to act before a s-"

"Issei! Soma!"

The brown haired perv would be cut off by someone calling out his own name, prompting a backward glance from the two.

"Oh, it's just you two." Soma offhandedly commented with a sigh. Issei Immediately put up a hand over his mouth.

Hopefully the other two of the pervert trio hadn't heard anything that they were speaking about. Believing they really hadn't heard, Issei and Soma continued on with Motohama and Matsuda towards their school.

* * *

"So, did Arikado-san tell you anything else about the guy who's gonna look me over?"

One relatively uneventful day at school would find Issei and Soma heading to the Hakuba Shrine; the place where they were supposed to meet up.

Genya Arikado. An enigmatic man who the two had met a month prior, he was among the few people the two could look upto, when it came to supernatural matters. After all, he was a top-secret government agent who had connections all over the world.

Shrugging, Soma replied, "The only thing I remember him saying, is that she's supposedly an exceptional _senjutsu _practitioner who's healed many patients before."

Issei immediately perked up. "_'She'_?"

Judging from the gears Soma imagined would be running inside Issei's head, he crossed his arms.

"As far as we know, she could be an old granny like _Genkai _from _Yu Yu Ha__kusho_." Issei gasped in exasperation, before staring back at Soma.

"Leave it to you to kill a man's hopes. Who knows, she could be a mature beauty like _Belnades-san~... _Seriously, you need to get laid."

"With whom, _you_? Psssh." Soma looked away from Issei, staring at the trees along the sidewalk. "I just... don't think this is the right time to be worrying about that stuff."

His gaze eventually went over to the ground near the trees, earning him an unusual sight.

_'...Feathers?'_ Soma's eyes narrowed upon a feather as black as night, lying under one of the trees.

It was too big to be that of a crow's.

"...So you say you're not interested in _Hakuba-chan_?"

That almost made Soma trip on his own feet. Taking a moment to properly regain his footing, his head snapped back towards Issei.

"That was completely out of the blue, Issei! Why'd you involve Mina into this-"

"Oh?" A smirk crept up to Issei's face. "To be calling her by her first name... I wonder what it really implies, _Dracula-kun._" Issei then turned his face away from Soma, prompting the latter to regain his own emotional bearings.

_'Damn you, Soma! You've already got such a cute girl looking out for you!' _Issei comically tightened his fist, his thoughts betraying the smirk he'd flashed Soma.

Soma, on the other hand, had his attention at an entirely different place.

_'It's gone...'_

The feather he'd earlier spotted underneath the tree was no longer there.

Soma narrowed his eyes, contemplating what exactly it entailed for them...

"...What's wrong, _Dracula-kun__? _Your silence only confirms my suspicions, you know?" Issei continued in his teasing tone, completely oblivious to what Soma was actually thinking about.

Then again, he was probably just overthinking it. With a simple shrug, Soma caught back up to his friend.

"Mina's just... she was among the few friends I had before I met you guys in middle school." Soma replied, referring to the pervert trio. If it hadn't been for their shared interest in video games, Soma doubted if they'd be as close as they are now, considering the pervert trio's... 'antics'.

There was a reason he stopped walking to school together with her. No way in hell was he going to let the pervert trio influence Mina in any way, shape, or form...

...Or that's what it was like at the beginning. He was more comfortable with Issei being around her since the... incident last month. Motohama and Matsuda, however were still not in the clear. Therefore, he continued to distance the pervert trio - and by extension, himself - from Mina.

And as a result, he was quite anxious. Would she still treat him like the close friend he used - or rather, still wanted - to be? Or had their friendship drifted far enough to become awkward-

"We're here."

Soma turned his face back up to see Issei jerking his thumb at the stairs leading up to their destination; the Hakuba Shrine, as stated by the large letters on the gate where they currently stood.

Taking a deep sigh, Issei continued speaking in a solemn tone much to Soma's surprise.

"You know, when I first climbed up these stairs, I wasn't expecting for the three of us to suddenly end up in a solar eclipse. I'm lowkey worried that kinda thing might happen again. Not the uh, teleporting to the eclipse thing, but like, there's just this feeling in my gut that screams '_Your life is never going to be the same anymore._'..." Soma wordlessly listened to Issei.

"Do you feel the same way, Soma...?" Issei finished by shifting his eyes back at the white-haired teen.

Said teen took a moment to gaze up towards the shrine himself, before closing his eyes.

"...You're the patient here. Of course a patient would feel nervous before their first ever surgery." Soma deadpanned, prompting issei to almost face fault into the ground.

"I guess I was just overthinking things..." Issei rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously.

"Speaking of surgeries, its about time we meet up with the others. Let's go." Soma finished before the two begun their ascent, bowing before the gates.

Soma gazed at Issei's back, thinking to himself...

_'Issei... I hope your gut feeling is wrong, for once...' _

The two were relatively content with the lives they had led upto this point, after all. They wished they didn't need to worry about an entirely different world that they had barely escaped.

The two secretly wished they wouldn't get dragged back into that world again...

* * *

The Hakuba Shrine was a beauty to behold. Surrounded by a thick cover of trees, the lamps gave the surroundings a mystical glow. There was just something about the atmosphere that they couldn't see, but could still feel. It was like they had entered an entirely different dimension. Locals and tourists alike could be seen scattered across the place, some praying, some testing their luck, some gifting charms to each other, and finally, some writing their wishes on small wooden slates and hanging them with a thread.

Issei and Soma were by no means particularly religious people. Issei was more interested in boobs, anyway. But after the incident last month, they knew better than to dismiss such things.

"I didn't really get to visit last month, but there's really something about this place that feels... Sacred? I'm not sure how to describe it..." Issei, in particular was more interested in what was going on around. Soma simply smiled in response. He too, had only recently begun to appreciate such things.

A third voice spoke before them, much to their surprise.

"It's always the things that we take for granted, that end up surprising us the most. Don't you think so, too?"

The speaker had long brown hair reaching up to her waist with a particularly noticeable middle bang resting on the side of her nose. Her green eyes had a sense of serenity to them.

She wore a half-sleeved blue tunic resembling a chinese qipao with yellow trim, with a yellow lining across the right area of her chest tucked under a dark green sash. She wore a black undershirt, black martial arts fingerless gauntlets, and black tights, which did little to hide her well-toned, athletic build. She seemed to be around the same age as Issei and Soma.

_'Oh, she's definitely a D-cup!' _Of course, Issei's attention went straight to her bosoms, before he tightened his left fist.

_'Dammit! Sometimes I wish I had Motohama's superpower instead of this thing on my arm...'_

Soma himself was stunned; not because she looked beautiful in her attire, but she just seemed to look so familiar to him, almost as if he'd met her before. Before he could say anything, however, the girl continued.

"You must be Soma-san and Issei-san, right? Arikado-san has been expecting you two. Come with me." She finished, gesturing the two to follow her to where Issei figured would be the Hakuba family's living quarters.

_'She looks familiar for some reason, though...' _With the brown haired girl in lead, Issei continued to stare at her back. Soma frowned upon noticing Issei's gaze, but before he could open his mouth, Issei faced him.

"You never told me Hakuba-san had a twin-sister!" Issei whispered to Soma in a slightly shocked tone.

"She doesn't! Mina's an only child, though she does look a bit familiar now that you mention it..." Soma whispered back, equally as shocked as Issei.

"Arikado-san, I've brought the two here." The girl spoke, startling the two. It seems they had already reached their destination.

Before them stood a young man with long silky black hair, in an equally black business suit, and the prettiest face one could ever imagine. This was Genya Arikado, a top secret government agent, and the one who had called Issei and Soma today.

And beside him, stood another girl around Soma's age, sporting brown hair similar to the girl who led them here, albeit shorter. She had brown eyes, and was currently dressed in the shinto priestess uniform.

"Hey, Soma-kun, Hyoudou-kun... It's been a while, hasn't it?" Mina Hakuba greeted the two boys with a smile that seemed genuine to the two.

"Yeah... It has been, Mina." Soma replied with a smile for both himself and Issei.

"Soma. Issei." Arikado called out, gesturing at the other brown-haired girl who led them here.

"This is Divya Verma, a distant relative of the Hakuba family from India, and an exceptional Senjutsu healer. She will be the one who will look you over, Issei."

Issei blinked.

_'I KNEW IT! THEY LOOKED TOO SIMILAR TO NOT BE RELATIVES!'_

Issei smiled, screaming internally.

"Well, that's sure a surprise, Mina. Then again, we never really talked about your relatives."

Soma, on the other hand, simply rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, I was just as surprised as you at first, Soma. I didn't know about the Verma family myself before Arikado-san brought it up here!" The brown-haired girl, now known as Divya chuckled at Mina.

"I didn't know our relatives went cross-country either, so all is forgiven, Mina-chan."

Issei, having taken another moment to gaze at the senjutsu user, smirked as he nudged Soma.

"She's definitely not the granny _Genkai_ you thought she'd be. You lose."

"Was this even a bet in the first place...?" Soma just sighed in response, before Arikado glared at the two, saying_ 'Don't forget what you came here for.__'_ with just eyes alone.

They immediately straightened up at that.

"Ahem." Arikado gently cleared his throat, focusing back to Issei's arm. "I've made the preparations according to your directions, Divya-kun. You may begin."

"That's great!" The girl in question clapped her hand in affirmation. "Follow me, Issei-san."

"H-huh... Okay..." Issei would nervously disappear alongside Divya further within the living quarters of the Hakuba Shrine. That left Soma, Mina, and Arikado together.

"Soma. Mina. I believe you're aware that this town is under the Gremory and Sitri houses' jurisdiction, yes?" Arikado began, immediately catching the attention of the two addresed by him.

"Oh, yes. I remember Yoko-nee-san talking about them. They're among the surviving devil families of the 72 great pillars, right?" Mina answered, earning a nod from the enigmatic man.

"Soma, your existence as the reincarnation of Dracula was supposed to remain a secret even to the underworld, but we have barely managed to dodge the inquiries from the Gremory and Sitri houses since the incident last month. It would be best to prepare for an unexpected confrontation... whether diplomatic... or life-threatening." Arikado continued.

"Life threatening...? What do you mean by that, Arikado-san!?" Soma asked, genuinely shocked.

And here he thought he would be able to lead a normal life...

"You've heard stories of sacred gear users being hunted down and monopolized by the three factions back during the great war. While the war itself has died down by a lot nowadays, there is always going to be the possibility of _you_ being their next target, if not _Issei_. This was part of the reason the incident regarding Castlevania's destruction last month was kept a secret from the underworld..."

"No way... Are you for real, Arikado-san!?" Mina gasped in shock as Soma wordlessly gritted his teeth. There were people out there ready to make a slave out of him if they were to get their hands on him.

Arikado gave a slow, silent nod in response, only worsening their fears.

"As a result, we've decided to keep you under constant watch. Our spy will be joining your class starting from tomorrow. This is the most we can do without exposing ourselves."

That was the closest thing to a good news they could hear. Mina breathed a sigh of relief. If they were an acquaintance of Arikado-san, then she was ready to believe in whoever was going to watch over him.

"A spy... What am I, a controversial politician...?" Meanwhile Soma just deadpanned as he looked over where Issei and Divya had disappeared off to. How long would the senjutsu check-up take, anyway...?

* * *

Meanwhile Issei found himself sitting on a chair in the very middle of a glowing magic circle drawn with some sort of special chalk, transcribed with letters and symbols he wasn't familiar with.

_'Arikado-san said she was from India, so it's probably one of the Indian languages... Gah! Which one, though? Is it gonna interfere if I don't know anything? Shit! I should probably ask her what all this is supposed to be! But... How do I begin? I don't even know where t-'_

"Issei-san, are you feeling uncomfortable...?"

Issei's train of thoughts would be abruptly interrupted by Divya, who had just reentered the dark room with what seemed like a mask in her hand.

"H-huh... To be honest I feel like I'm about to be sacrificed to Satan..." Issei voiced his thoughts, earning a chuckle from Divya.

"I get that a lot, believe it or not. Rest assured that you won't be used as a sacrificial lamb, Issei-san." Divya replied.

_'Though I wouldn't mind it if was by a girl like her... Wait, what am I saying!? I still haven't become a harem king!'_ Issei's expression changed to display his thoughts, surprising Divya.

_'I REFUSE TO DIE BEFORE BECOMING THE HAREM KING!!!'_ Divya sweat dropped, genuinely concerned about his expression.

"Uhm... Issei-san? Are you alright...?" Divya voiced her concern, breaking Issei away from his thoughts a second time.

"Oh... I was just thinking about uh... Dinner! Yes, I was thing about what my mom's gonna make for dinner!"

Divya blinked.

"...Huh." Divya mumbled.

Then Issei blinked.

_'WHY DID I GIVE SUCH AN EMBARRASING RESPONSE!?'_ His black face once again betrayed his inner thoughts. No way in hell was he going to tell her about his dream. He didn't want to creep out his doctor. Even Issei knew better than that.

"You must really love you family, then." Said doctor replied with a smile, throwing Issei's thought process off the rails yet again.

"Ahaha... Anyway, Divya-san, what are you going to do for my check up...?" Issei finally voiced his curiosity, gazing at the magic circle, the various incense sticks surrounding the room with a fragrant odor, and of course, the mask in her hand.

"Actually, before I begin, would you mind briefing me about what led to your current condition? I won't be able to treat you properly if I don't even know what caused it." Divya frowned, caressing the mask with her hands as though she was preparing it with... something Issei couldn't see. Was it senjutsu? He could ponder about that later.

He had a story to tell her. Bringing up his bandaged arm for display, and taking a deep breath, he began.

"Okay then, Divya-san. It all began when we confronted Graham Jones once and for all, back in Castlevania's last month..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**First of all, thank you for taking the time to give this chapter a read.****As most of you can tell, this is a fairly ambitious crossover. As a result, it might be possible for me to take decisions regarding the canon of the two universes that not everyone will necessarily agree to. In such an event, I sincerely hope you would act as objectively as possible.**

**Speaking**** of canons, feel free to correct me if you notice any discrepancies regarding the two universes. I would rather know what I did wrong and try to correct it instead of believing the wrong to be right.****Furthermore, I am sure there are a lot of questions that have been popping in your minds regarding this crossover. Feel free to leave them with a review, and I will do my utmost best to address them in the next chapter.**

**And as you have probably guessed, Divya is an oc which I originally wasn't going to actually add, but then I would realise we don't really have that many senjutsu users onscreen in dxd.**

**Or**** maybe i have yet to catch up on the light novels. Either of the two.**

**Last****, but not the least, read and review! Let me know what you think of this chapter! Again, thank you for taking the time to give this a read.**


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